Un film de Brad McGann

• Par Shonagh Lindsay (NZ Screen Director's Guild Take Issue 37, in The Big Idea, 25 août 2004)
  
• Par Violeta Kovacsics (Senses of cinema, janvier 2005)

• Par Peter Calder (New Zealand Herald, 2 octobre 2004)
  

• Par Gordon Campbell (N.Z. Listener, 3 juillet 2004)
  Sur la production et le choix des acteurs.

• Par Neil Smith (BBC Movies, juin 2005)

How did you come to cast Matthew MacFadyen?

There was a practical rationale behind it; because it was a co-production we needed to spend some money in the UK. But also I really like Matthew as an actor - he has this restrained sensitivity that I felt really suited the character - and because Paul had been away for 17 years it made sense to get an Englishman to play it. The accent thing was an issue: Matthew had a go at a New Zealand accent but sounded like a South African! I knew it wouldn't work for a Kiwi audience so I asked him to put it aside. Apart from that, he was definitely the right choice.

• Par Unlimited (Unlimited, juin/juillet 2005)

The casting of MacFadyen, for instance, was frowned upon in the UK because he was not a big enough name. McGann dug his heels in and got what he wanted. The suggestion that an American starlet play the teenage girl prompted McGann to threaten to walk off the project. They succumbed and allowed him to cast a local.

What was Matthew like to direct?

As a first-time feature film-maker I couldn't have asked for anyone better. No ego. I had an intelligent, sensitive and highly insightful person helping me create this character Paul which was a very difficult role. It could easily have slipped into melodrama and Matthew really understood the character. He was dealing with people who were a lot less experienced than him and he never overshadowed them. It would have been really easy for the film to be more about him than, say, Celia (Emily Barclay).

Once again, a biggest stumbling block for McGann was the character Paul. "It was hard to get inside his head and particularly his heart, given how guarded and solitary he was in the script." He gives great credit to male lead Matthew Macfayden. "Matthew’s final delivery of Paul ended up having a warmth that was possibly lacking in the script," he admitted. "I feel he gave something to this character that was uniquely his, a stillness, a hidden innocence and an ability to occasionally smile and laugh at himself."

• Par Nick Grant : Reel Authenticity (Onfilm Magazine, septembre 2004)

The critically acclaimed new movie In My Father's Den is a good example of how a New Zealand film can be made with overseas funders and triumph in the end.

Luce a écrit:

• Par Nick Grant : Reel Authenticity (Onfilm Magazine, septembre 2004)